As a royal gossip fan AND a tennis gossip fan, I’ve really enjoyed all of the commentary and jokes from both sides of this story. On Tuesday, the Princess of Wales made an appearance at Wimbledon, showing up at the Royal Box just in time for Wimbledon’s salute to Roger Federer. Roger won eight singles titles at Wimbledon, so Centre Court gave him a standing ovation and a seat next to his biggest fan, Kate. Of course, Roger’s wife Mirka was also there, as were Roger’s parents (they were in the second row).

Roger sat in-between Kate and Mirka in the first row of the Royal Box. Many photographers just focused on Roger and Kate, cutting Mirka out of the frame. Mirka and Roger have been together since 2000 – she’s literally seen it all, including all sorts of women fawning over her man. As Mirka watched Kate try to flirt with Roger, I’m sure Mirka thought “this again, jeez.” And Kate absolutely was trying to flirt with Rog and she was so pleased to be in his company yet again. Roger is something of a family friend to the Middletons, although who knows if he’ll bother with the rest of the broke-ass Middleton clan at this point. He attended Pippa’s wedding, and he’s gotten invitations to Kensington Palace and more. I know Mirka is tired.

Anyway, it was curious to watch the British media try to make this into a thing. Maybe it was because Roger was nice to Kate and he didn’t look like he openly loathes her, which is how Kate’s husband looks most of the time. Maybe it was because Roger is a handsome athlete and Kate’s husband… is not. Maybe Roger is the new Prince Harry: someone Kate can obsess over and flirt with and then she can Mean Girl his wife. Well, the articles have been fascinating. From the Telegraph: “Kate and Federer’s double act is stealing the show at Wimbledon. Laughing in the royal box, the pair looked like the hottest non-couple in town – but let’s not make a racket out of it.”

Leo and Kate. Fred and Ginger. Bill Nighy and Anna Wintour. History is peppered with examples of famous names that fans have wished, just wished could be real-life couples, but for various valid yet inconvenient reasons – they’re happily married to other people, their dating cap is firmly 25 years old, they don’t actually get on in real life, they’re simply too chic to ever confirm anything – will never be.

To that list we can now, tentatively, add “Catherine and Roger”. Or Kate and Fed, if you are on such terms. Last week, the Princess of Wales and the Swiss Maestro, who have been friends for a decade, filmed a video at Wimbledon to promote the work of the ball girls and boys at the tournament. They laughed, they quipped, they rallied, they… flirted? No, no, too far.

And, yesterday, they were back together, sitting side by side in the royal box on Centre Court, where Federer was being honoured by his loyal flock. She wore a light green and ivory Balmain jacket, like a beautiful cauliflower. He wore a superb taupe double-breasted suit – the kind of shade the Prince of Wales only dares choose if he’s within two hectares of an African elephant.
To the other side of Federer was Mirka, his wife and the mother of his two sets of twins, but that’s plenty about her, thank you very much. Catherine and Roger, the hottest non-couple in town, were back on show.

“Whenever the Princess of Wales is with Roger Federer, she is like a giggly teenager,” one observer noted on Twitter. “Roger and Kate standing alongside each other look beautiful together. They would make [a] perfect couple,” wrote another. “Sorry Mirka and Prince William but Roger and Kate look stunning together,” went a third. And those are the clean ones.

One newspaper this morning has noted, with some outrage, that Federer even broke royal protocol by touching Catherine on the waist as he greeted her. Well, she started it: the Princess, who took over the presidency of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club last year, kissed Federer three (three! So Swiss!) times when he won a record eighth men’s singles title in 2017. Love all.

[From The Telegraph]

It’s so weird to talk this way about two people who are married to other people. Mirka and Roger famously have a great marriage – Mirka was known as the gold-standard tennis WAG, and she’s truly spent the past 23 years of her life watching women throw themselves at Roger. Meanwhile, they’re starting to write about Kate like she’s already separated from William and on the prowl for a new man. It’s definitely odd. It also feels like the message is overwhelmingly: “Look, a man was nice to Kate, maybe this will make William jealous!” Silly goose, William is only jealous of Harry.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.